Firefighters and well-wishers lined the streets to honour the life of Jennie Logan, who died in the line of duty during a major blaze last month.
The 30-year-old was given a full ceremonial fire service funeral, with mourners paying tribute to her bravery, fearlessness and dedication to Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service.
Ms Logan’s coffin, draped in the Union flag, was carried atop an aerial ladder platform fire engine through the streets of Bicester in Oxfordshire on Saturday morning.
Hundreds of people gathered along the route in respectful silence while uniformed firefighters marched behind the coffin.
Ms Logan was killed in a fire at the Bicester Motion site on May 15, alongside fellow firefighter Martyn Sadler, 38, and local businessman Dave Chester, 57.
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The cortege paused outside Bicester fire station just after 10 am, where firefighters stood to attention for a minute’s silence.
Ten fire crews were called to tackle the blaze, and thick black smoke could be seen rising into the sky. Two other firefighters sustained serious injuries in the blaze.
Thames Valley Police said post-mortem examinations suggested the three victims sustained injuries caused by the collapse of the structure, but an investigation by the force’s major crime unit is ongoing, alongside inquiries by the Health and Safety Executive and fire investigators.
Ms Logan was the second female firefighter to die on duty in peacetime, following Fleur Lombard, 21, who died in Bristol in 1996.
Tributes poured in after the tragedy, with Ms Logan’s family describing her as their ‘hero’.
‘Her bravery and fearlessness shone through right until the end,’ they said. ‘She will always be our hero, and we are so immensely proud of her. Forever in our hearts.’
Books of condolence were opened across Bicester in the days following the fire, and two gold plaques were placed at the scene of the blaze, signed: ‘Love from the Bicester community.’
Mr Sadler’s family said firefighting ‘was always in his blood’, adding: ‘Our world has fallen apart and our hearts are completely broken, but somewhere in amongst it all we are immensely proud of him and his unwavering bravery.’
Mr Chester, a father of two, was described by his family as ‘Bicester born and bred with a quirky sense of humour’.
‘He was not a victim but a hero. He died the way he lived – helping others and putting them ahead of himself,’ they said.
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